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 More information on how we can work together to see our nations' young people free from depression will be coming soon...
Annette Shailer battles depression... "I feel like I’m drowning, slowly pulled further down into a black pit. I’m struggling, scrambling to get to the surface to keep my head above the thick, black hole dragging me deeper and deeper down. I see people interacting, chatting, laughing, smiling…but I’m not a part of it, I’m not a part of ‘that’ world.
I try to act normal, it’s exhausting trying to make it seem like everything is ok. I am here physically…barely...but I don’t contribute to this world, I am not a part of it. I don’t deserve to be here, I have nothing to offer and I would do everyone a favour by ending my pain and lifting the burden from my friends and family. What is wrong with me?
This is how I felt for the better part of 10 years. It began in the midst of my battle with anorexia at the age of 13. I felt so frustrated, angry, obsessed and full of self-hate. My whole life could be in chaos but if I had calculated every calorie and gram of fat I had eaten for the day then life was ok.
Despite threats of hospitalisation I couldn’t eat. My dad blamed himself. The whole thing stemmed from a diet we went on together to get fit and healthy. He couldn’t have known I’d take it so far. It killed him watching me slowly kill myself. My decision to eat followed an excruciating battle with the voices in my head. I cried as I forced food down. I was on the road to recovery but I would feel the effects of this for years to come.
I struggled with social situations so I wouldn’t go out, instead making excuses so I could stay home. The isolation would only compound my depression.
It was a vicious cycle, one that got harder and harder to break. My depression spiraled out of control during my time at University. I was living away from home in Bathurst and although I had great friends I felt completely alone. I found myself driving back to Bathurst crying uncontrollably and willing myself to turn the wheel and go over the cliff face. I would pray for a tyre to blow-out, anything to stop the pain. Every morning I woke up wondering how I would get through another day. In the midst of this despair I was struck by the greatest tragedy of my life, my beautiful, and inspirational aunt committed suicide. It came as a shock to all of us. She was always so full-of-life, she lit up any room, was the life of the party and was my greatest source of encouragement. To see first hand, the aftermath of suicide was the most heart-wrenching thing I have ever experienced. The hurt and anger my family felt at being left behind was nothing compared to the distress her husband, daughter and son felt at knowing their mum choose death over life. It was surreal, here I was wishing for the courage to do what she had just done, but now I was confronted with the effects of that decision.
It was then that I took the first step and confided in my sister. I talked to her about how I was feeling, how I wished for death. Saying those words out loud and seeing the pain on her face I realised then and there I needed help. I chose life not death. I started to see a psychologist. She let me talk, cry and eventually laugh again.
It was a long, bumpy road until I felt ‘better’ but I got there and since then I have traveled the world, lived in London for two years and am currently working in my dream profession. It’s an on-going battle and I still slip, but I now have ‘coping mechanisms,’ I put into action as soon as I feel I’m starting to fall again. Simple things like exercising, reading, forcing myself to get out of the house, writing things down and calling a trusted friend all help. The most dramatic change is how I now deal with my feelings. Instead of being overwhelmed by them I reflect on why they have come up and immediately seek to confront and conquer them.
I have fought hard to get where I am today. I am stronger, smarter and more emotionally astute than ever. My emotions no longer smother me and that black hole that had me trapped fades a little more every day."
Everyone will, at some time in their life, be affected by depression whether in their own family, or someone they know
Most people have a general understanding of depression, but what most people fail to realise is that depression and anxiety often have their onset in the teenage years. In fact, 1 in 5 people will experience depression before they reach adulthood.
Adolescent depression can vary in severity, duration and the visible symptoms can be quiet different to those in adults. While adults experiencing depression may feel withdrawn, adolescents may become increasingly irritable and as teenagers often struggle to articulate their feelings, or willingly reach out for help, depression often slips past undetected. It is alarming to know that in any 12-month period, 25% of people aged 15-24 will experience a mental health disorder and of this number 80% are not receiving any treatment.
When school turns into a mound of social and academic pressure, when the opposite sex sends hormones bouncing out of control and when it feels like parents are the enemy, we all know this is part of the developmental stage called ‘ADOLESCENCE’ or teen(r)age as some might find more appropriate. However, it is important to distinguish between normal adolescent adjustment periods and clinical depression. It is important to ask ‘Is this moodiness coinciding with any family tensions?’. Often legitimate feelings of depression in adolescents is misunderstood as being a “phase” a teenager may be going through but will soon snap out of, or that it is normal for teenagers to be “moody” but teens don’t actually suffer from real depression. Teenagers are experts at picking up silent signals sent out by people around them and often think ‘I’m just a teenager, no one takes me seriously’. If this is how a teenager suffering from depression interprets their identity, this will compound feelings of isolation, that no one understands them and guilt for how they are feeling. Stop and ask, how far will your daughter, son, friend, student, niece, have to go before they are taken seriously?
It is vital that a teenager can talk about issues of stress, relationships, school pressures in an unhurried and supportive atmosphere. It is also important for teenagers to be hugged. Babies are touched from the day they are born. If a baby is not touched IT WILL STOP GROWING. Why then, as each year passes, does a human get touched less and less? Twenty years ago touch was a sign of caring and teachers frequently hugged there students. Now with concerns of sexual harassment, many of us are starved of simple, caring touch from our family and friends. It is a proved fact that being touched, on the arm when saying hello for example, strengthens a person immune system.
Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people in the developed world. Yet depression, which is the most significant factor, is one of the most treatable. This illness can no longer be ignored. There is a genuine need to educate young people about depression. Since 1960, depression has been doubling every twenty years and as preschoolers are now the biggest market for anti-depressants we, as educators, parents and members of a community, have an obligation to raise emotionally resilient young adults. In Jane’s seminar SMILE she teaches young adults how to create an internal boundary. This boundary allows young adults to distinguish between helpful and hurtful comments, so that when they are faced with criticism they can let the comment pass through their internal boundary, so that they can change there behaviour accordingly, or let the comment bounce off them so they are not hurt. This strategy is just one of the tools Jane equips young people with so that they can take control of their emotions. It takes more than medication for someone with depression to regain their strength in life. Researchers for Beyond Blue estimated that in 2003 over 100,000 adolescents in Australia suffered from depression and around 20,000 prescriptions were issued PER MONTH to people UNDER 19. Averaged out, this points to approximately 40 students in every high school in Australia currently battling depression. We need to reach out and do what we can to ensure adolescents do not feel like they are fighting a lonely battle. In Australia, depression is the leading cause of disability. Do not let our young people slip away.
The World Health Organisation has forecasted that by the year 2020, depression alone will constitute one of the world’s largest biggest health problems world-wide. With the launch of Towards 2020 the Oxygen Factory aspires that by the year 2020, depression will not exist…Imagine if we get close? By Ingrid Benge
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